U N D E R S T O O D
by The Endless Hourglass
Summary: Being the Boy-Who-Lived is surprising for an eleven year old orphan who lives on the streets, but also being responsible for a Death-Eater attack on Hogwarts is unnerving. Things are easier with a 'twin' brother and friends like Hermione and Neville, but harder with bullies like Ron and Malfoy. That shadow that follows me everywhere called 'Voldemort' tops it all off, though.


**Title - **_ D_

**Summary - **_Harry lives a difficult yet fullfilling life with Audrey, an orphan he thinks is his sister. However, it changes when he meets Severus Snape, and learns that he isn't just a regular orphan. He is famous, and infamous, for though he defeated the Dark Lord, he was also the reason for a bunch of death-eater killings. His sister and DADA teacher seems like the only people he can talk to. _

**Pairings - **_HP/OC (sisterly/brotherly) HP/GW, HG/RW, OC/DM, and anything cannon you can think of._

**Other stuff - **_Twin!Harry (sorta)_

* * *

"_Minerva. . .Quirrell. . .many children. . .and so many more. . .they have all died to night. The death eaters were angry. . .they were scared. . .to hear that their Lord had fallen, to hear that he'd been defeated by a mere child. . ."_

"_Do not lose hope. Harry may be missing, his magic undetectable, but he is somewhere out there, alive. With him, there is always hope. With him alive, no matter who with, there is always promise."_

* * *

Harry could see nothing. He could hear the motor of a motorcycle, but he still couldn't see anything. Even the sound was blurry, which made it really hard to figure out what was going on. Harry was curious, wondering exactly why he could feel an itchy beard in his hands.

Blurry vision returned to him, finding that he was looking up to a large man who was obviously carrying him in his arms. The sound of the motor got louder as the concentrating man frowned with a few tears coming down his eyes. Harry couldn't tell if the man was angry, sad, focused, or all those things at once. It was too blurry.

A green light suddenly lit up his vision, making it perfectly clear that they were in the sky. More lights came toward him, but the man, now totally focused, was evading them with effort that made sweat form on his forehead. Red, green, white, green, white, red, green, white, green, red. . .The lights didn't seem like they would stop, leaving Harry to wonder if the man had. . .flown? Yeah, _flown _right into a firework show.

Then suddenly, Harry felt like he was falling. His heart began to race quickly, and he heard the crying of a baby that was coming from. . .him? He wasn't sure. However, he was certain he was falling, and as his vision blurred again, he noticed that the man had been on a Motorcycle. A flying Motorcycle.

It was at that moment that Harry blinked open his green eyes, looking up to the bright blue sky that always welcomed him. He tried to make sense of what he'd just seen, but of course, he couldn't. That dream was a recurring one, and each and every time he dreamt it, he felt as if it was real. However, when he thought of the flying Motorcycle, he just disregarded the idea, knowing full well that there was no such thing.

"So you're finally up?" asked the familiar voice of his sister, Audrey. "I thought I was going to have to wait until noon to have breakfast!" Harry smiled as he sat up, his eyes immediately finding the gaze of Audrey's blue eyes, which were darker than what Harry was used to seeing on other people.

Harry was once again greeted by the large smile of his sister, who was sitting on the other side of the old carriage that creaked as they shifted their wait. It was a large carriage that didn't have a top, but because of how tall it was, they still had shelter by going underneath it. However, they'd have to be cramped with all of their supplies, which were very few in number.

The carriage was in a long ally that almost no one visited. It was the reason they stayed there, for most parents would probably drag them back to the orphanage, stating that they needed to be taught manners now that it was rebuilt. However, after three years of freedom, they were quite angry at the idea of going back. Every once and a while, when they needed food and didn't have the money to buy their own, they would return for a meal or two and stock up on foods they could bring with them, but then they would disappear back into the village, where they declared was their home.

"Good morning, Audrey," said Harry with a long yawn. "What do we have for breakfast? Or are we out?" Audrey grinned, as if hoping he'd ask that question.

"I found some money on the streets while I was looking for some stuff we needed," said Audrey, pulling out enough money to get them at least seven apples at the fruit stand down by the market. "What do you think we should spend it on? I know we have enough food, but we haven't had anything fresh in a month and I honestly don't want to go back to the orphanage today." Harry shrugged, thinking along the same lines as her. However, he was skepitcal about taking the money. What if it belonged to someone who was really in need? That question was quickly silenced when his stomach growled, forcing him to remember how hungry he was.

"Alright, we can go get something from the marketplace," said Harry after a few moments of thinking it over. "But only just enough for breakfast. I don't want to spend it all right now, because you never know when we'll have to buy something else." Audrey looked like Christmas had come early, nearly twirling in her spot as she hugged him.

"Let's go get an apple—they're especially good this time a year." With that, Audrey, hopped off of the carriage, waiting as Harry stretched before following her off. He hoped the apples didn't cost too much, because they were running out of stuff to repair the carriage with, and that would be bad since fall was on it's way.

The marketplace, as usual, was busy with many people rushing about to by the best they could. It was a very small town, so you had to get the best while you could, and since today was picking day, a lot of the fruit and vegetables were already gone since most people liked to get up bright and early for this stuff.

Harry and Audrey stood on the edge of the marketplace where they watched all of the townspeople nearly fight each other for the best food. The whole town seemed to be there, and though usually it would surprise the rare foreigner, to Harry and Audrey, this was perfectly normal.

Of course, the people behind the tables were usually quite calm, because they were the ones picking the food. There were a lot of farmers in the city, meaning that food was quite plentiful. The reason everything was sold at the marketplace was the fact that the town had little to no money, and they couldn't afford to build a store. They had spent too much money on the new orphanage and school.

So, as Harry and Audrey walked through the streets, they avoided the people, looking for the fruit stand, which they visited often if they had the money, whether that be their allowance or from some money they picked up off of the street, which was rare.

When they reached the fruit stand, the man behind the tables was busy handing out many oranges to another customer who looked really rude, and not that friendly. Harry watched as the taller man—the one who wanted the oranges—made snide remarks about how shabby and old the stand was, as if everything else around there was better. Harry found this odd, since most people that lived in the town usually respected the farmers.

_Must be someone from one of the large cities, _Harry figured out as he saw the man's expensive looking coat and gelled back brown hair, making look handsome and rich. _I wonder why he's hear if he hates it so much. _Harry loved to think of theories on how that would be, because honestly, he had nothing better to do.

Once the man left, the farmer behind the stand sighed with relief, shaking his head as he turned to see Audrey and Harry, who smiled up to him. The farmer returned the smile, kindly portraying his gentle giant sort of personality that was one of the many reasons the two siblings always chose this particular fruit stand.

"Hello, younsters, what can I get you today?" asked the man, looking to them with a warmth that any parent would give. The farmer was aware of their situation—anyone who knew them was. However, they all understood, and those who didn't were just too scared of the two siblings to confront them.

"Well, er, we only have a small amount this time and Harry wants us to save some of it, so I was thinking we could get a few apples?" Audrey spoke with her usual voice which was a sort of shy sound, even though Harry's sister wasn't that timid. She just didn't really like adults that much, whether that be because most of them hated their freedom, or another reason was beyond what he dared to ask for.

"Sure, anything you want." The farmer said as he picked up three apples and put them in a bag. Audrey handed over the correct amount of money before taking the apples with an eager look on her face. Harry and Audery both have the farmer a quick 'thank you' before walking back toward their carriage, discussing what they would have it when they returned to their home.

They passed many old stores, and old houses, most of whom belonged to wealthier families than the farmers. They could afford to live in town so they did. Where Harry and Audrey 'lived' however, there was mostly abandoned housing and stores as well as vacant lots. No one came by there, one of the many reasons they stayed.

They were just about to turn into their ally when they heard someone cry out for help, which alerted both of the eleven-year-olds instantly. They quickly walked toward the whimpering, hearing yelling as well as 'sorry' every few moments, followed by more whimpering from a different person. When they got to the scene, they couldn't believe what was right in front of them.

The man who'd rudely bought the oranges was standing there, but he didn't have his oranges. Instead, two small girls were huddled in the corner, the bag of oranges in their hands as they tried hard not to give it to the scary young man who was standing right there.

"Hey, rich-guy, what on earth do you think you're doing?" asked Audrey, obviously having absolutely no respect for this man. The girls looked over to the black-haired eleven year old with wide eyes, as if shocked that anyone came to their rescue. Harry felt sorry for them, for at their age—which was four at the youngest, seven at the oldest—they must have been scared and desperate.

"They stole my oranges!" the man hissed between gritted teeth. Audrey frowned, her expression in a complete scowl as she glared at the man. Stealing wasn't good, so she couldn't say it was his fault, but at the same time, Harry knew she wanted to punch the guy.

"They're six years—"

"Five years," the older one corrected her.

"Right. They're _five years old, _idiot, and they obviously have no parents, otherwise they'd be with them," Audrey ranted, nearly fuming with frustration at this moment. "Give them a break—I mean seriously, they probably haven't eaten in days!"

"That doesn't matter!" the man yelled, very angry now. "I payed for those oranges, and so I should have them!" He walked forward, but the girls ran, surprisingly toward Audrey and Harry, who gave shocked expressions. The one with the oranges went to Harry while the younger one went to Audrey, obviously feeling protected with her.

The man stood up and walked a few steps toward them, holding out his hand as if demanding that they give them to him. Harry glanced over to Audrey, finding within her expression that the last thing she was going to do was hand over the oranges. Harry, however, knew that that was going to be a bad idea.

He looked down at the brunette haired girl, who held the bag of oranges tightly in her hand and asked simply, "Can you please give the man back his oranges?" Audrey's jaw dropped, as if that was the last thing she'd expected to come out of his mouth.

"But we're hungry!" the girl beside him said. "It's the only thing we've had in days! Besides, he's too mean to deserve these oranges! I saw him pick them out, and he didn't do it nicely." Harry nodded, agreeing completely with her. This man really didn't deserve this at all, but Harry knew what he was doing. For his own sake and there's, he was making sure the man didn't call the police.

"But you're nice, aren't you?" asked Harry. "Just give him back the oranges, and I'll give you both an apple each, how does that sound? And then we can go to a place you'll never miss a meal, no matter if you have parents or not, okay?" The girl looked at him before glancing over to the younger girl, who was clutching hard on Audrey's worn pants. The older girl then set her gaze on his green eyes and nodded, determined, finally, to do the right thing.

Slowly and cautiously, the girl stood up straight and walked over to the man, giving him the bag of oranges with a disgusted look in her face. The girl walked back to Harry after that, and stood beside him, obviously holding him to his promise.

"What a disgusting place," the man muttered under his breath. ". . .can't believe he forced me to come here. . ."

"Good, now these two will come with us, and," said Harry as the man started to turn around. "_you _won't call the police." As Harry said that, something strange happened. The man gave a small choking sound as the wind picked up for only a few moments. After this, the man quickly walked away, starting to run after turning onto the street.

Harry ignored this, figuring it was just the wind, and the man was just acting weird. He instead worried about the girls, who obviously wanted to know where the twins were going to take them. After all, their hopeful expressions couldn't be explained otherwise.

"You aren't seriously going to give them the apples, are you?" asked Audrey, looking very protective as she held the bag within her hand. "We haven't had them for ages! And we only have just enough money left to—"

"Audrey, they haven't eaten a full meal in days," Harry pointed out. "Remember when we were like that? No one would help us—no one cared. The _least _we could do was help them out." Audrey frowned, having absolutely no way to counter that. Sighing, she keeled down, making the girls too curious to stay away. Audrey pulled out two apples and gave one to each of the girls, who began eating them with complete pleasure.

"Thank you, Audrey," said Harry politely, smiling at his sister.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Audrey muttered before standing up. "So I'm assuming we're going home?" Harry sighed, his eyes locked with hers, having no actual home, but somewhere darn near close to it. He nodded.

"Yes. We're going home."

"See ya next time, Mrs. Bonnie!" said Audrey, waving back at the elderly house-keeper. "Thanks for taking them in for us!" The elderly woman waved back before leading the two girls back into the orphanage, leaving Harry and Audrey to walk back toward their carriage. "Well that was fun."

"Yeah, it was nice seeing Mrs. Bonnie again," said Harry, smiling. "It's been awhile. Oh! Speaking of which, do we have something to eat tonight for dinner? And no—I do not want to use the money you have for meat." Audrey slouched in disappointment before they continued on.

Harry suddenly felt something. It was an odd feeling, one that made him narrow his eyes in confusion. He felt as if was being pulled toward something, yet at the same time, he couldn't go toward it because something else was holding him back. It was strange. . .

He also felt like he was being watched, and then as if someone was looking for him. He had the sudden urge to look for these unknown people, even though he had a feeling this was all a trick. Besides, Audrey would burst out laughing if he told her and/or warned her. With those thoughts, Harry continued walking, completely alert with his senses reaching as far as they could.

It was at that moment that a sudden _CRACK! _ was heard from the twins, in which they both jumped backwards, very, very shocked as man—who had been no where close to them before—had suddenly appeared before them. Both Harry and Audrey stared at him, finding it odd that he was wearing a robe—which wasn't often seen in this town—instead of the normal clothing.

The man was tall, much taller than even the man they'd chased off that morning. He was wearing black, which matched his greasy hair. His eyes, though somewhat familiar to Harry, were cold, and the scowl he held could tell anyone from a mile away that he was not someone to mess with.

"I have found him," said the man in a cool, spine-chilling voice.

**A/n: I do not own Harry Potter**

_Eh, not my best piece, seeing as it's basically jotting down idea's on a piece of paper. But hey? It worked, I guess. I'm not entirely sure where to go with this, but I do know it will not follow the original plot-line. Not in this book anyway, because as seen above, Quirrell is dead. The reason of this is because I didn't want to go through the whole book page by page for lines and events. It's really boring. Also, it makes this story unoriginal. _

_So what do you think? I did NOT edit this chapter or give it to my beta since I'm not completely sure I will continue it. Still not sure, in fact. Anyway, until next time! =)_

_-+- The Endless Hourglass, may time be with you._


End file.
